I can only speak from my own experiences, and from where I live:

I think there are degress of stima. And it is all based on other peoples fears. When the illness reaches a certain degree, people don't know what to expect from the other person anymore (in terms of holding it all together) and they wonder if they "safe" to be around.

For instance, if someone talks about going to T, or 2 Ts, most people respond, "ooo really. who are you seeing? do you like this or that person?" Or they will just nod in agreement and smile politely and on to the next topic.

If someone says, "I am depressed", most people brush it off, and may even say, "so... who isn't".

If someone says, "I take x-y-z for my depression, anxiety, etc.", most people will say "oh, really...I took z and it didn't really help me. but x is great"

Then it starts getting into the fuzzy area, where people start thinking about themselves and their own safety and well-being.

And how the illness REFLECTS on them simply by association.

And that is the point to where is it considered to hot to touch.

***

I don't like it. I don't like it at all. And I am empathetic and compassionate on all accounts. But there are simply things we cannot discuss because it makes other people feel uncomfortable. It's the sad reality.

(I closed my FB account because I realized there is not ONE SINGLE PERSON on there that I can share anything about myself with. espcially en toto. That is not a "Friend" to me)